I was sitting in the Carpark waiting for one of my children last night and a young family walked past pushing a shopping trolley filled to the brim with Christmas goodies. The mother, harried and stressed, was juggling three little kids probably between the ages of two and six while navigating the trolley and finding their sedan seemingly lost somewhere in the sea of Christmas car parking. The father, proud, calm and face beaming with joy, was sauntering behind them carefully carrying a new born baby. And while my heart was pitter pattering at the sight of the tiny cute little bundle, my head was marveling at the miracle walking past me!
Life is filled with daily miracles but quite often we don’t even recognize them. Or if we do, it’s like “yeah that’s great but I have to ….” and fill in the blanks. Yet each morning we awake to find that we are still breathing. No matter how horrible the day before was, we are still here and still breathing. How is that not a miracle? We look out the window over a fresher and quieter world and see a golden orb in the sky rise above the earth shattering shards of pink and orange light across the horizon. Wow – check out that colour! Miracle. A butterfly flutters by as we marvel at the brand new day. Miracle. In the next bedroom, one of your kids lies sound asleep completely absorbed in their morning slumber. Miracle. The list goes on…..We could go through every moment in our day and identify the most outrageous of miracles. There are wonders all around us yet we don’t necessarily stop and marvel at the phenomenon of our own lives on a regular basis do we?
Today is the miracle of Christmas. What is it about Christmas that makes us feel like it is something special? What is it about Christmas that has us repeating the same behaviour each December even though we declare every December 26 that next year will be different? What is it about Christmas that makes us almost expect some sort of miracle to occur as each December 25 breaks through the midnight of Christmas Eve?
Perhaps the answer lies in the symbology that comes with this Christmas story? The evergreen tree of Yule with the tinsel and lights. The sun that was worshipped by the Romans at Saturnalia. The star and the angel. The large jolly man in a red suit. The reindeer. The mistletoe. The melodic ebb and flow of Christmas Carols. Even the birth of Jesus. All these little pagan, cultural, religious, musical or commercialized stories boil down to one thing. The exceptional awe that we hold for the enduring life of matter.
The total amazement for the miracle of life – how it cycles and how the sun will always rise three days after each winter solstice is what keeps Christmas in our hearts. We can bah humbug all we like however it is difficult NOT to feel like Scrooge waking up Christmas morning with glee that we somehow escaped the ghost of Christmas future. Our childlike wonder that the never ending cycle of nature continues to regenerate somehow gives us enough hope and joy to annually collectively remind ourselves of the miracle of life. Like those ancient pagan Christmas stories seeking the sun, seeking the light, it seems that the purpose of Christmas is to remind us to reclaim the power of all the light that simply sits in our lives already and not at the bottom of the Christmas tree but in our own backyards.
For time immemorium, like moths to the flame, we have sought the light of the sun, the light of the stars at night, the light of the beauty in the reflections in those around us and the light that we feel in our hearts when we feel the joy for those everyday little miracles like a sunset, butterflies, our breath and our family.
Perhaps Christmas is designed to remind us that feeling good is part of light. Sometimes we get so caught up in our stories that we forget to feel good and we forget to see the light around us. So for me this year, Christmas is all about remembering to see the light in everything around me regardless of the story that is plaguing my head and my body.
Whatever memories that appear to justify darkness, perhaps Christmas is the ultimate consumer guarantee which reminds us that the sun will rise in three days after the solstice?
In Nepal, while climbing the Himalayas, I remember how anyone we met on the walking track would say “Namaste” as they passed by. This literally translates to “I salute the god within you.” This means that I see your sun and I appreciate and acknowledge your light. Wow – such an incredible word – Namaste! It pretty much says the best thing you can ever say to someone doesn’t it? “I see your light.”
Perhaps Merry Christmas is just another way of saying “I can see the miracle of light in you.” Maybe Christmas is a very clever strategy that we humans have created (in quite a diverse range of ways) to remind us at the end of each winter solstice cycle (either literally or not) to feel good and see the light. Maybe establishing a custom, a tradition, a belief, a religion, a practice, a culture, a structure and a marketing vehicle, gives humanity a cyclical reason to take us out of our story just for a moment? Maybe humanity has intentionally created an assortment of experiences for us to feel good and to seek the light and at this present moment in time, we have slapped the label of “Christmas” on it?
Perhaps it was previously labeled Saturnalia or Yule in other epochs of time? Some cultures simply celebrate the passing of an old year. Half the world celebrates this passing in thongs, shorts and a t shirt yet the fundamentals of this celebration remain the same. As the human animal we seem doomed to seek purpose and for many Christmas is a carefully planted reminder of this purpose – to seek light, to salute the god within and without, to feel good and to appreciate all the little miracles of life around us.
To all my family, friends new or old – “Namaste”.
Thank you for showing me your light and for sharing it with me this year so I can hang it on my tree for everyone to see.
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